Agenda - 10-12-1999 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. ~ Draft 10/8/99. pressures have altered the landscape forever. Often the driving concern is that important forests and farmland that have defined rural character and quality of life for centuries will be lost without a program to prioritize and acquire natural and cultural landmark sites. In November of 1998, at least 148 open space-related funding measures - were on the ballot nationwide. A .total of 124 (84%) passed, with roughly $5.28 ..billion in funding for open space approved. Twenty-five of the funding referenda were at the County level, and. 20 of the 25 County issues passed. This does not include an expected $3 billion authorized by - the Florida-state legislature for open space purposes. Thus, in 1998 alone,. examples of interest in preserving open space can be found all across the nations: - Fairfax County,. Virginia has. allocated $20 million for land acquisition. - Palm Beach County, Florida okayed a $150 million open space bond by a 2-1 margin.. - Johnson County, Kansas passed a $6 million park acquisition bond - The governor of Ohio has proposed a $200 million open space and farmland protection fund. - The state of Utah has agreed to put almost $3 million. into a land conservation fund to provide grants to local governments. - North Carolina's .trio of land. conservation funding sources (the: Clean Water Management Trust Fund, Natural Heritage -Fund and Parks and Recreation Trust Fund) were all funded again by the General Assembly to the tune of $44 million. - New Jersey voters approved a $1.5 billion open space. plan On the horizon are two possible Federal programs that could add over $10 billion of funding- to the mix.- The national Lands Legacy Initiative is currently in Congressional committee. This program .would make available $588 million for grants to states and local governments for the protection of "local green spaces" including forests, farmland and open space, and park renovation. A parallel program from the Clinton-Gore administration is` the Better America Bonds program, which .would provide $9.5 billion in bonding authority to state, .local and tribal governments over five years. Zero-interest financing of the bonds for smart-growth projects will be available. A description of these programs is provided as Appendix B. In addition to .the new. funding approved in 1998 and under consideration, many local governments across the nation have previously developed land acquisition 3